Sunday 4th December 2016 @ 4:00 AM

Ormidians

The Ormidians are a humanoid species, they’ve got the whole two-legs-two-arms-one-head thing going on. They are about the same height as humans, and their society is structured somewhat similar to humanity’s as well, with cities and nations and governments and all of that stuff. Their planet is called Ormidia and, though they have not yet left the world or discovered life on other planets, they have been visited in secret by the Space Gods of this universe.

Melo is a city guard, essentially the police force of the city. Unfortunately, Melo is something of a corrupt cop. Melo routinely takes bribes from the criminal element, and also picks on innocent people if Melo has a reason to do so.

Whooldoon is a demi-god. Ormidians do not reproduce in the same way that humans do, with two partners coming together to form a new human, but instead they expel little globules we can call eggs and they are put into a big pile with eggs from all the others who are reproducing at that time. Mostly, the resulting offspring are clones of the egg donor, but they take genetic elements from the others in the pile, so some variations do occur. When Whooldoon’s parent was trapped in a burnt-out wasteland after a war, they laid an egg alone that would have died, but the Space God Valia took pity on them and kept the egg alive. The resultant child, Whooldoon, took elements of the god’s power and is now a tall, somewhat glowing, demi-god who is trying to find a place in the world. (Whooldoon’s “half-sister” of sorts would be Nicole Archibald.) With superhuman (or “superormidian” rather) strength and stature, Whooldoon is capable of doing much good and opposing all sorts of evil, but does that make Whooldoon brave? As a child of the God of Courage, even if they don’t know it, Whooldoon feels that strength is an important virtue, but can’t be sure if it is one they possess.

Scarrow is a priest for one of the most common religions on Ormidia, one based around the prophecies of a doom-speaker thousands of years ago. The prophecies insist that the end of time is upon us and we will all be dead within a generation. It has said that for thousands of generations now, and it isn’t any truer now than it was then. The adherents of the religion surely must have some doubts by now, but they plug along with their traditions as if the end was right around the corner.

A Fact About Ormidians: Rail vehicles, somewhat like trains, are the most popular form of transport on Ormidia. Between cities and even over oceans, the railways are built, and almost any one city in the world can now be reached by rail from anywhere else.

Sunday 4th September 2016 @ 4:00 AM

The Muchsufferers

In Universe Silver, all mortals are playthings caught in the whims of the Space Gods we call the Astrolympians. Most mortals are lucky enough to not know that, but on one planet there is a species that has developed a sense that allows them to interpret the divine. They can detect the movements of the Space Gods and that has left them fully aware of how small they are in comparison.

They call themselves the Muchsufferers. They are an aquatic race, though roughly humanoid in shape, with big heads and three digits on each limb. Their form of propulsion involves shifting various internal organs around as ballast.

Xixogoz wants to rise to the level of the gods. Since the Muchsufferers can actually see that level of existence, it makes sense that one would think it was attainable. Though none has ever ascended to a state above mortality, there are tales of old days when an individual’s hubris would make the gods take notice of them. That sounds like a good starting point for Xixogoz, who is striving with plans involving the planet’s most advanced science, solely as a challenge to the gods, with the intent of trying to study, or even capture one when they manifest.

Vindoobi wants nothing more than to serve the gods. Unlike the religions of Earth, the Muchsufferers have concrete evidence that there are spiritual entities that control the mechanisms of the universe. In a lot of ways, it would be foolish not to want to serve them. Vindoobi starts every day consulting the oracles, asking for some indication of what the gods want, and then spends the day trying to do their will. Some of the gods have actually taken notice of Vindoobi’s actions, and are totally messing with him. They’ll tell the oracles that they a hole must be dug in the mud on the outskirts of town, and they’ll laugh as Vindoobi spends a day doing it. The next day, they tell the oracles the hole needs to be filled with different mud, and Vindoobi spends a whole day doing that, and they get to laugh again. Vindoobi would be devastated to learn this, but in the meantime at least feels useful.

And then there’s Wusselll. Wusselll is one of the most gifted sculptors in the universe, capable of conveying emotion with an abstract hunk of rock. The gods pay attention to this mortal because they actually appreciate the beauty of the works, and several gods have rewarded Wusselll in order to entice the artist into creating works dedicated to them. Other Muchsufferers see how the gods favor their fellow, and they can grow jealous, which sometimes puts Wusselll in danger.

A Fact About the Muchsufferers: Muchsufferers have a mouth-organ on their chest that they keep covered by their clothing except when they are eating, which is an important ritual. Meals are taken at temples and large portions are sacrificed to the gods. Their diet consists largely of star-shaped vegetation that grows in bushes with sharp thorns that are gathered during a ceremony in which the Muchsufferers sing their prayers.

Sunday 28th August 2016 @ 4:00 AM

Pllvm

During the Supernatural Sundays I did a bunch of alien wizard called Wallfixers and several members of that group were of a species called the Pllvm. These undersea octopusish people, I decided, exist in many alternate universes because humans aren’t the only ones who get to be ubiquitous. Today, let’s take a tour of some of those universes:

Bubllpub is an aide to the Pllvm’s royal family. In his universe the Pllvm homeworld is ruled by a single government, a monarchy whose lineage stretches back many generations. The royal family is not perfect, a few of the members are particularly cruel and set upon conquering other worlds, but most of them are decent enough rulers of the planet. First contact with alien species was only made in the current generation, and it has not always gone well. Bubllpub has been personally assaulted by six different alien beings. Still, he holds out hope that the planet’s entry into the galactic community will end up being beneficial for all involved.

Universe: White

On a Pllvm homeworld that has not made first contact and has hundreds of separate nations spread over the oceans, Bublupp is just a working class “normal” person. He makes a living by delivering batteries to businesses with energy subscriptions and it is pretty easy work and he doesn’t hate it. Bublupp is focused on raising a family, and has two children, though his mate was killed in a tragic accident. He tries to be a good father, but the pressure gets to him sometimes and he will eat illegal intoxicating plants to relax.

Universe: Blue

Lollipop, whose name being similar to an English word is just a coincidence, is a criminal for hire. Living in a significantly corrupt society, this sort of criminal mercenary work is about the best one can manage. But that doesn’t mean that Lollipop doesn’t have other ambitions. He daydreams of being able to make a living doing comedy. He stays up late at night working on his material alone.

Though her homeworld is the capital of a federation that spans several star systems, Pulubbul has never been off-planet. She’s a homeworlder who thinks that the planet has everything she’s ever going to need and that other planets are basically for rustic idiots. That attitude is going to give her trouble when her rich uncle on a farming planet dies and leaves her his estate at the same time she gets kicked out of her apartment and has to go live with the “country bumpkins” she had no respect for. It’s a real fish out of water situation, except still very much in water.

Lubgug‘s version of the Pllvm homeworld is beset by demigods. Some of the Astrolympians have visited this world, so naturally they’ve had children here. Those children of the gods have, as is their wont, been unruly and tend to fight one another. Lubgug is in the employ of one of the nicer demigods, called Helper, a compassionate being who pities the Pllvm and tries to stop the meaner gods. Lubgug and the other members of Helper’s following try to clean up and repair the damage after the fights.

Universe: Silver

The Pllvm homeworld of Vmblb was once twisted by a dark magical entity, and Vmblb was among the Pllvm who were mutated and forced to serve that being. Though the monster was driven away and the mutated horde regained their free will, Vmblb has had trouble returning to normal society after all he’s been through.

Bvplob is a scientist on her version of the Pllvm homeworld. This version of the planet has two rival governments waging open warfare and Bvplob is employed by one of them to create super soldiers. Bvplob does her job, but she has doubts about whether her side is any better than the other side when it comes down to it. As she goes about perfecting her formulae, she makes plans to use the resulting super powers on herself to try to put an end to the conflict she sees as pointless.

Sunday 21st February 2016 @ 4:00 AM

The Kod Kod

Planet Kodron is in Universe Silver, the universe with the Space Gods known on Earth as the Astrolympians. Those Space Gods, obviously, are not merely tied to Earth, but are representative of concepts all through the universe and their presence is noted even by the intelligent people of Kodron, called the Kod Kod. In fact, whereas on Earth these gods are considered mythical, the Kod Kod consider them to be scientific fact as concrete as the concepts they personify.

The Kod Kod are purple-skinned bipeds with two tentacles where humans have arms. They are taller than humans on average, but are spongy, which makes them much lighter and physically weaker. The planet is not very geologically active, having only one continent and few mountains. As a result, there is very little variation in Kod Kod culture overall. The Kod Kod are nocturnal and sleep outside in the daylight, their skin photosynthesizing light as they rest.

Living in a settlement along the Eastern Shores, Voggle Kod is a very average citizen of Kodron. He spends the days hunting for this world’s equivalent to fish, then selling any that aren’t needed to feed his family. This is the single most common occupation on the planet and is seen as good wholesome work. Voggle lives near a temple to the Space God of Hunting and makes sure to sacrifice at least one fish from every haul.

Teya Kod is a soldier in the Devnan Army, a force serving directly under the Space God of Discipline, who makes her home on this world. The God of Discipline likes planet Kodron because there are few actual wars that could make her army fall into chaos. As it is, soldiers like Teya are just people who like strict routines and rigorous self-improvement programs. They are much more likely to help out after storms cause damage than to get into combat.

Negma Kod is a worshipper of Constelli, the Space God of Intelligence. Negma’s mission is to learn as much as possible, expanding her mind to allow Constelli’s consciousness to partner with hers. Others in this field of worship, who have successfully opened their minds to sufficient limits, now run the greatest scientific laboratory in this universe, which is especially good for a species that has not yet made contact with other worlds.

A Fact About the Kod Kod: A two-sexed, the Kod Kod are able to determine the sex of a gestating infant by regulating the temperatures to which the expectant parent is exposed. This method has allowed generations to be made up more prominently of one sex, often as a reaction to the previous generation being prominently the other.

Sunday 6th September 2015 @ 4:00 AM

The Devaluer of Souls

Most devils are into getting souls, everyone knows that. But a lot of humans don’t want to sell their souls. They consider them pretty valuable or whatever. That’s where the Devaluer of Souls comes in. It’s his job to drive down the value that people have for their souls. There’s a lot of ways that can be done. In the past, he’s tried to start philosophical movements that encourage people to think of human life as a worthless, meaningless affair, so why not sell your soul? He’s obfuscated the idea of eternity in people’s minds, so that they won’t understand or appreciate the commitment that selling ones soul really signifies. But suppose some enterprising devil wants the soul of some particular person. That’s when the Devaluer is sent in to do his best work. He will haunt his target, insulting and terrifying them until they think their lives are things from which to escape. When he does his work, people can’t sell their souls fast enough.

But if he’s not the one buying the souls, what does the Devaluer get out of the deal? Why would he do this for all the other devils? He may not get souls, but they pay him in the next best thing: Cash Money! The Devaluer likes to spend his free time lounging in vacation resorts on Earth, and he needs money to keep relaxing in style.

Second-Hand Simmons

Don’t point out that it’s actually a third hand. She’s heard it before and she is getting annoyed with it.

Corrine Simmons has a strange hand-like energy construct that she can control with the skill and dexterity as though it were her natural limb. This secondary right hand, which appeared for no reason known to Simmons (but which may involve certain Space Gods), can stretch to a length of dozens of feet and can lift a car with ease. Unfortunately, Simmons has decided to use this gift for crime. When you can pick up ATMs and carry them away, who is going to stop you? Well, Natalie Archibald‘s police task force, that’s who.

It wasn’t intentional when I started that the vast majority of human characters in the Valia/Space Gods portion of my character creation would be black, but I’m gonna roll with it. If a lot of white characters had accumulated together in a superhero story, barely anyone would notice. In an ideal world, that could happen with a black cast too.